Remembering the 1917 October Revolution: Socialism is the answer, whatever the question

By Nikos Mottas

Today marks the 107th anniversary of the single most important event ofmodern history: The 1917 Great October Socialist Revolution. Its significance lies in the fact that it was historically the first conscious step for the transition from capitalism to socialism and the abolition of man by man. Lenin's slogan “the ice was broken, the road was paved” summarizes the passage of social development to its highest level, that is socialism, the ultimate perspective of which is the classless communist society. 

What is Stalinism and what does it actually mean to be a Stalinist today?

 By Nikos Mottas

Since the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1956, everything that relates to Joseph Stalin has been demonized. The so-called “destalinization” process initiated by Khrushchev and his political allies, within the broader opportunistic turn of the CPSU, tried to blame Stalin for all the evils of the world. 

Khrushchev's shameless campaign against Stalin was effectively used by the capitalist world in building the anti-communist arsenal of the Cold War. 

The Five Biggest Anti-Communist Lies

By Nikos Mottas

History, they say, is written by the victors, even the temporary ones. The dominance of counter-revolution and the overthrow of socialism in the Soviet Union and the Eastern European countries in the early 1990s was the trigger for the escalation of anti-communism at all levels. 

Through bourgeois historiography and the mainstream media, a series of fallacious theories have been developed, aimed at slandering the 20th century socialism and demonizing Marxist-Leninist ideology.

The Communist International, its dissolution and the international struggle of communists today

Article by the International Commission of the Kommunistische Organisation:

80 years ago, on May 15, 1943, in the midst of the Second World War and shortly after the victory of the Red Army in Stalingrad, the dissolution of the Communist International was announced. 

The dissolution of the Communist International (Comintern for short) was announced and implemented a short time later. The joint international organization of Communists, which had been founded under Lenin’s leadership and had organized, supported and coordinated the struggle of the world communist movement for 24 years, no longer existed. An equivalent replacement for it was never created again.

Is There a Future for the Left?

By Greg Godels

"…the Left narrative, no matter how accurate and intellectually powerful it may be, cannot expect to catch the imagination of the citizenry without including a vision for a real alternative future. Moreover, working-class institutions need to be reinstituted for the enhancement of class consciousness and authentic socialist parties need to be rediscovered for the Left narrative to become politically effective. Social movements are important, but their actions rarely have lasting effects. Only political parties can succeed in forging the Left narrative into the policy agenda and turn it into a programmatic plan for social change. 

The open conflict between the USSR and the People's Republic of China in the 1950-1970s

Photo: life.ru

The complex relations between the largest countries where communist parties were in power ran like a red thread through the most important world political events, starting from the second half of the fifties and up to the end of the seventies of the last century. 

 

The fierce polemic and open confrontation between the Communist Party of China and the CPSU caused an unprecedented split in the international communist movement, the echoes of which are still heard. 

 

China’s Stock Market: A Lesson on What Socialism Is Not

By Charles Andrews*

Late in January, the Chinese government arranged for its state-owned companies to put as much as $282 billion into the falling stock market. The companies were told to buy via Hong Kong accounts.

The government is desperate to halt a big slide in the Shanghai Composite Index, which had fallen nearly to its March 2020 low point at the start of the COVID pandemic.

Why does a “socialist” economy have a stock market?

Nikola Tesla on the USSR: “The Russians are lucky — they have socialism and Stalin”

By Nikos Mottas

Nikola Tesla, the famous Serbian mechanical and electrical engineer, who became a naturalized U.S citizen, is rightfully considered one of the greatest inventors and scientists of the 20th century.  

There is very limited knowledge of his political ideas, except from his idealistic - pretty much ingenuous - envision of a world of peace and understanding. 

32 years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union: The Red Flag will rise again

By Nikos Mottas.

It was thirty-two years ago, on December 26, 1991, when the red flag with the sickle and hammer was lowered from the Kremlin.

It was then, during the cold days of December, when the first socialist state of the world, the homeland of the world's proletariat, bent under the weight of the counterrevolution. Four days before, on December 22nd, the leaderships of three of the largest Soviet republics had decided the dissolution of the USSR, while the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) had been outlawed on summer of the same year.

Communist Youth of Denmark: Socialist or Capitalist? The political character of contemporary China

Socialist or Capitalist? Is China an imperialist state? A comprehensive article by the Communist Youth of Denmark (DKU), adopted by its Third General Assembly, on the political character of contemporary China:

The question of whether or not modern China is a socialist country, is one of the most polarizing issues among self-proclaimed Marxist-Leninists today. DKU's position on this question defines our position on a wide range of theoretical, political, philosophical and economic issues that we have to deal with in our daily activities. Therefore, we must give a clear answer to our view on the political character of China.

Material Forces that Turn Socialism into Capitalism

Nikita Khrushchev and Deng Xiaoping.

By Charles Andrews.

The Soviet Union and China proved that people can build socialism. They also showed that apparently firm socialist countries can fall to capitalism – from within and from the top of the communist party.

Should we give up on socialism, or shall we solve a problem: how do we keep on the communist road to a society of no rich and no poor, securing common prosperity for everyone, and with full development of our humanity in work?

KARL MARX, THE MAN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD

 By Nikos Mottas 

 

"Philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it." 

 

- Karl Marx, Theses on Feuerbach.

140 years have been passed since the day when "the greatest living thinker ceased to think". It was the 14th of March 1883 when Karl Marx, the greatest of modern-era philosophers, died peacefully at his home in London. Three days later, during his burial at Highgate Cemetery, his close companion Friedrich Engels was saying: "An immeasurable loss has been sustained both by the militant proletariat of Europe and America, and by historical science, in the death of this man. The gap that has been left by the departure of this mighty spirit will soon enough make itself felt."  

Communist Party of Greece: Valuable experience of the USSR in the struggle for socialism

On 14 January 2023, the Revolutionary Communist Party of France organized an event in Paris on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Soviet Union. Below, you can find the contribution made at the event by Eliseos Vagenas, member of the CC of the KKE and Head of the International Relations Section.

“If someone said that the Soviet Union would disintegrate, for us it would be like the sun would not rise the next day” the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, had said in an interview. This phrase captures the feelings of millions of communists and other progressive people who understood that the overthrow of socialism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union would mean a major social setback for the working people all over the world.

100th anniversary of the founding of the Soviet Union: Socialism proved its superiority over capitalism

By Nikos Mottas.

December 30th marked the 100th anniversary since the founding of the world's first workers' state, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. 

The creation of the USSR was the practical result of the 1917 Great October Socialist Revolution, the single most important event in modern history that became the first conscious step for the transition from capitalism to socialism and the abolition of the exploitation of man by man. 

100th anniversary of the founding of the USSR: Speech by Tibor Zenker, Party of Labour of Austria (PdA)

Contribution by Tibor Zenker, chairman of the Party of Labour of Austria (PdA), at the teleconference of the European Communist Initiative on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the USSR:

The founding of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on 30 December 1922 marked the greatest state-political achievement of the revolutionary working class to date. It was the result of the Great October Socialist Revolution of 1917, the successful struggle of the young Russian Soviet Republic against counterrevolution and interventions, the overcoming of civil war and so-called "war communism". 

100th anniversary of the founding of the USSR: Closing remarks by Giorgos Marinos, KKE Politburo member

Closing remarks by Giorgos Marinos, member of the PB of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), at the teleconference of the European Communist Initiative on the 100^th anniversary of the founding of the USSR.  Read here the speech of Dimitris Koutsoumbas, General Secretary of the CC of the KKE. 

Concluding the teleconference of the European Communist Initiative, Giorgos Marinos, among other things, noted the following: 

100th anniversary of the founding of the USSR: Speech by the KKE General Secretary Dimitris Koutsoumbas

The following speech was delivered by the General Secretary of the CC of the KKE Dimitris Koutsoumbas at the teleconference of the European Communist Initiative on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the USSR:

Dear comrades,

The international and domestic developments in the 100 years since the founding of the USSR confirm the necessity to enrich our programmatic conception of socialism, incorporating all the positive and at the same time negative experience from the very course of socialist construction in the 20^th century and drawing useful conclusions from the victory of the counter-revolution, first of all in the USSR.

KKE: Contribution at the 3rd International Ideological Seminar of the CP of Venezuela

Written Contribution of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) at the 3rd International Ideological Seminar of the CP of Venezuela (PCV) titled "100th anniversary of the foundation of the USSR: The conclusions drawn from the socialist revolution, the socialist construction, and their overthrow in the USSR are of great importance for the Communist and Workers’ Parties in the contemporary class struggle and in conditions of imperialist war".

Dear comrades,

Alexandra Kollontai — Communism and the Family

By Alexandra Kollontai

Women’s role in production: its effect upon the family

Will the family continue to exist under communism? Will the family remain in the same form? These questions are troubling many women of the working class and worrying their menfolk as well. Life is changing before our very eyes; old habits and customs are dying out, and the whole life of the proletarian family is developing in a way that is new and unfamiliar and, in the eyes of some, “bizarre”. No wonder that working women are beginning to think these questions over. Another fact that invites attention is that divorce has been made easier in Soviet Russia. 

Communist Parties' participation in bourgeois governments is a deeply erroneous strategy

By Nikos Mottas.

Every time a Communist Party compromised the aim of workers' power in order to participate (or support) a “progressive”, “left-wing”, “anti-capitalist”, “anti-fascist” etc, bourgeois government the results were utterly disappointing, leading to ideological degeneration and disintegration of the workers-popular movement.

A few days ago, the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), a party with significant history, paid the price of its participation in the “progressive” government of the Socialists, by receiving a rather disappointing 4.4% and four seats in the legislative elections. This result marks an almost 2% loss compared to the 2019 election.